Baseball and softball recap

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Contact)

LITTLE ROCK — The state baseball and softball tournaments began with many teams from the Three Rivers area but will end with just two playing for the state championship this weekend.

The two Three Rivers teams playing for the title are the Highland Lady Rebels and the Harding Academy Wildcats.

After receiving a first-round bye in the 4A state softball tournament, the Lady Rebels posted a 3-0 shutout of DeWitt in the second round before outlasting Heber Springs 2-1 in eight innings to advance to the state championship game against Ashdown. The game will be played at noon Saturday at Lady Back Field at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Saturday’s game will be Highland’s first trip to the state championship game; in fact, before this year they had never advanced to the state tournament. Head coach Rebecca Rider has been working with her team to combat any nervousness they may have, but she knows that the Lady Rebels have a big task ahead of them in Ashdown.

“We got to watch them play [Monday],” Rider said. “They’re a pretty sound softball team.”

Rider does not intend to do anything different heading into the matchup. The teamwork her team has exhibited throughout the season has provided them with a 27-8 record, and Rider is confident heading into the finals, especially with the large contingent of Highland fans expected to be at the game.

The starting pitcher for the Lady Rebels will once again be Karisa Hendrix.

The Wildcats, the host of the 3A state baseball tournament, looked good in their first two games, defeating Lamar 13-3 and Gurdon 6-4. Their good fortune continued into the semifinals as they defeated Corning 10-4 to advance to the state championship against Marmaduke. The game will be played at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Baum Stadium at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Other teams who advanced to the state tournament but saw their season come to an early end include:

◊Cabot - The Panthers came up just a run short of advancing to the second round of the 7A state baseball tournament with a 6-5 loss to Fort Smith Southside.

The Lady Panthers advanced to the second round of the 7A state softball tournament with a 3-1 victory over Rogers, but could not produce any offense in a 3-0 loss to Fayetteville in the second round.

◊Jacksonville - The Red Devils played the longest game so far of the 2008 baseball playoffs. A day after defeating Sheridan 4-3 in the first round of the 6A tournament, Jacksonville took Watson Chapel to 13 innings before falling 6-5.

The Lady Red Devils did not fare as well as their male counterparts, falling 4-1 to Watson Chapel in the first round of the 6A state softball tournament.

◊ Searcy - The Lions experienced a tale of two rounds in the 6A state baseball tournament. In the first round, Searcy jumped on Lake Hamilton 10-1, but in the second round, the Lions could not find any offense, being blanked 5-0 by Sylvan Hills.

The Lady Lions, the sixth seed from the 6A-East, found themselves out of the state softball tournament after a 7-1 firstround loss to Benton.

◊Batesville - The Pioneers ran into a buzz saw that came in the form of a 14-1 loss to Harrison in the first round of the 5A state baseball tournament.

◊Beebe - The Lady Badgers, the second seed from the 5A-East, had their season come to an end after a 3-2 loss to hosting Harrison in the first round of the state softball tournament.

◊Heber Springs - The Lady Panthers’ pitching staff threw two shutouts in the 4A state softball tournament before running into trouble against Highland in the semifinals. Heber Springs defeated Waldron 6-0 and the host team, Nashville, 2-0 before falling to Highland 2-1 in eight innings.

◊Cave City - The Cavewomen posted two convincing victories early in the 3A state softball tournament. In the first round, Cave City defeated Fouke 9-3, then the Cavewomen shut out Perryville 3-0 in the second round. In the semifinals, however, Bismarck put an end to their season with a 7-0 victory.

◊Tuckerman - The Bulldogs’ postseason ended before it could really begin. The top seed from the north region fell short in the first round of the 2A state baseball tournament 6-3 toNorphlet.

The Lady Bulldogs also saw their season come to an early end. Like their male counterparts, the Lady Bulldogs were the top seed from their region and stumbled in the first-round, losing 7-2 to Dierks.

◊Cedar Ridge - The Lady Timberwolves were stopped early in the 2A state softball tournament by Junction City in a low-scoring, 4-2 game.

◊Midland - Midland’s season came to a screeching halt with an 11-2 first-round loss to Parker’s Chapel in the 2A state softball tournament.

◊McCrory - Of the four teams in the 2A state softball tournament from the Three Rivers area, only the Lady Jaguars were able to escape the first round. The second seed from theeast region defeated Jessieville 1-0 in the first round before their lack of offense caught up with them in the second round in a 9-0 loss to Dierks.

◊Izard County Consolidated - The Cougars were the host of the 1A state baseball tournament and parlayed that into a first-round 10-9 win over Nemo Vista. The home-field advantagewas not enough to get them into the semifinals, however, as they fell to Trinity Christian.

Like the Cougars, the Lady Cougars were also the host of the 1A state softball tournament and used it to their advantage. In the first round, the Lady Cougars defeated South Side Bee Branch 4-2 before falling to Taylor 2-0 in the second round.

◊Calico Rock - The Pirates were involved in the highest scoring of any postseason game this season, unfortunately they were on the losing end of an 18-13 game against South Side Bee Branch in the first round of the 1A state baseball tournament.

The Lady Pirates did not score as much as the baseball team, but the result was the same, a first-round loss. Calico Rock was shutout 6-0 by MountVernon-Enola in the 1A state softball tournament.

◊West Side Greers Ferry - The Eagles were able to advance to the semifinals of the 1A state baseball tournament. A 3-0 victory over Viola in the first round and a 6-2 victory over Wickes in the second round had the Eagles poised to play for the championship, but Taylor had other ideas, ending West Side Greers Ferry’s hopes by a score of 11-5.

The Lady Eagles had a highscoring affair with Viola in the first round, winning 8-7, but the runs would not last. In the second round, West Side Greers Ferry was defeated by Scranton 9-0.

◊Melbourne - In a defensedominated game, the Lady Bearkatz were unable to overcome a 2-1 deficit, falling to Nemo Vista in the first-round of the 1A state softball tournament.

- emoore@ arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 57, 58 on 05/15/2008